
The Partnership 
of Paint 







Class. J_T;^i^.a. 



CopightN". 



COEmiGHT DEPOSIT. 



The Partnership 
of Paint 



Published by 

John W. Masury & Son 

in Brooklyn, New York 
at Fifty Jay Street 






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Cojjyriglit, l''Jl» 

JOHN W. JIA^IRV «r SOlN 

Brooklyn, N. V. 



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A CKNO WLEDGMEN T 

We wish lo express our indebtedness to 
Mrs. Eda A. Oliver, of New York City, for 
the pages on Interiors, ller suggestions 
are based upon her wide professional 
experience and may well be considered 
tlie last word in correctness and good 
taste. 

John W. Masury & Son. 



Paint Our Partner 

PAINT as our partner in all the afTairs 
of life may be a new thought, but it is 
an old established fact nevertheless. In 
reality paint is so interwoven with every 
turn of the wheel, that it is forever at our 
side, like our Siamese Twin. 

Suppose we were to wake up some morn- 
ing to find that paint in every form had 
been eliminated from the world, from 
our lives! What consternation, surprise, 
indignation, and havoc would reign 
everywhere! Whether for better or 
worse, for good or evil, it is part of the 
very warp and woof of our everyday ex- 
istence, and what a pal and benefactor it 
really is. Think of our morning train, our 
motors, our boats, our houses, as paint- 
less! What a queer jumble life would 
be. But here stands our partner — paint — 
ready to jump into any breach, and make 

[1] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

life full of comfort and happiness and 
cheer, from the building of a new house, 
where the painting of every wall, every 
bit of trim, has to be carefully planned 
and decided upon, to the many small 
things about the house that can be trans- 
formed by the "Magic Touch" of paint. 

The dear old home that has stood in rain, 
and wind, and snow, for years, and be- 
gins to show its many battles, seems to 
implore us to brighten up its faithful 
face. And so we do. We paint it a soft 
old ivory white with fresh green shutters, 
and it seems to expand with joy and hap- 
piness, and smiles back at us a radiant 
smile of thanks; and as we regard it wdth 
warm affection, we suddenly realize 
anew how much we love it and owe to it, 
and a feeling of most tender warmth fills 
us, and fdls our day, and Life takes on a 
fresh beginning. We return at night with 
a new glow of well-being in our hearts. 
It passes on to our friends, to whom our 
radiant newly dressed house also gives 
joy. It permeates the very air, and indi- 
rectly works its way into unknown chan- 
nels for good; for nothing we ever do can 
remain unto us alone. Every act, how- 

1:2:] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

ever small, has its immediate reaction, 
like the circles made by a pebble, spread- 
ing ever wider, far beyond our vision. 
The whole community is cheered because 
of our freshly painted house. 

Take the practical side. Suppose you 
have a house you want to sell. It is 
shabby, down at the heel, forlorn and s^d. 
If you will put it in condition and paint 
it inside and out (give it the "Magic 
Touch"), your chances for selling it are 
ten to one in your favor. You present 
your house at its best, at its highest pos- 
sibilities. Everything depends upon the 
way a thing is presented. A purchaser 
immediatel}^ sees what it really looks like. 
One out of a hundred prospective pur- 
chasers has the imagination to see it in his 
mind's eye and realize its possibilities, if 
he first beholds it in its downtrodden state. 
Besides, he isn't buying possibilities, he 
wants to see what he is buying. He sees 
it, he likes it, he buys it. The "Magic 
Touch" has brought it fresh, beautiful, 
and living to his recognition. In his 
mind's eye he sees his family installed, 
happy and cozy, within its cheerful walls. 
The deed is done. The house is sold. 

1:3] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

Then the joy that paint brings into our 
lives, the radiance, the color. We all love 
color, color that Nature first taught us to 
love. How can we bring it into our midst, 
with its gay vibrant song? By paint, and 
only by paint. And so again our debt to 
paint grows greater with our realization 
of all that it can mean. 

Paint is so clean. Almost any condition 
of grubbiness can be made sanitary and 
wholesome by paint, and it keeps out and 
prevents illness and disorders. 

The use of paint is as old as history. We 
find it on the mummy cases of Egypt, on 
the shores of the leaden, swinging Nile, 
though the medium used then was wax 
mixed with the pigment. The medium 
has changed, but it has gone down the 
ages, steadily at our sides, varying, grow- 
ing, developing, never standing still, ac- 
tive, ready for any call of life. It went 
into the Service, holding off the iron rain 
of shell on the painted dust-colored hel- 
mets of our boys, thus eliminating the 
target they would otherwise have made; 
camouflaging our ships, our trains, our 
tanks, and our trucks. It helped in all 

[4;] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

the campaigns. What would we have 
done without the posters, the banners, 
the inspiration offered by paint on every 
hand? We couldn't have done anything 
without it, without its magic. It is part 
of life and a very serious part of it. It 
transforms; it brings joy and gladness in 
its train. It is sanitary, it is practical, it is 
most constructive; only good follows in 
its wake. 

Paint is historical, and teaches us much. 
Take the characteristic painting of the 
Norse countries. The furniture used in 
the peasants' houses is painted in flat, 
hard, brilliant colors, expressive of the 
climate. It is a record of what people see 
and feel, and so translate into their lives 
and surroundings. The subtle, inscrut- 
able, complicated civilization of the East 
is expressed in the Oriental painting of 
every description, meticulous as it is, de- 
tailed, and fdled with most exquisite color 
of every possible nuance, the most deli- 
cate shades and tones. 

Paint is pigment, or color, and a medium, 
whether it be oil or wax, or something else 
by which it is applied, but it has its own 

[5] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

far reaching psychology. It is inspira- 
tional, and really spiritual in its reaction 
on mankind. We may paint a house for 
the most practical of reasons, to preserve 
it from the weather, but we are carried, 
in spite of ourselves, beyond the point of 
hard fact, to a certain positive feeling of 
pleasure and satisfaction and joy it gives 
us. 

Back of all seeming hard, cold facts lies 
the truth of Life: it is Inspiration. Foi" 
that reason our debt to Paint mounts 
higher and higher, as we think about il 
and realize that it is in very close associa- 
tion wilh everything about us, a very vital 
part of our human existence, and that we 
could not, at the present stage of our 
development, possibly be comfortable, or 
clean, or happy without the "Magic 
Touch," the Miracle of the wonderful 
"Partnership of Paint." 



liei 



Nature and Color 

NATURE is unerring in her choice and 
use of color. She is the mistress of 
color, always in good taste and the greatest 
respecter of the fitness of things. In the 
main, her dress is green and brown and 
grey in a frame of blue and white. To re- 
lieve the monotony, she punctuates her 
work with spots of brightness tliat stand 
out in harmonious contrasts. 

From earliest Spring days she operates a 
kaleidoscope which brings changes to the 
eye and keeps it interested and unwearied 
of the transitions which gain in attrac- 
tiveness as she touches time with her 
wand and carries us unwittingly through 
a maze of huef ul glory. 

In her scheme of things, she uses gold and 
pink, lilac and amethyst, crimson and 
green, blue and purple, yellow and 



[7] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

brown, orange, buff and neutral silvers 
and drab. Go where you will in the flower 
months and you cannot get away from her 
combinations of colors. 

In March she brings the trailing arbutus 
into blossom with its delicate pink flowers 
nestling in a bed of green. April comes 
with her lap filled with wild honeysuckle, 
with its red spurs that seem to be a recep- 
tion committee to balmy daj^s and re- 
newed life. So it goes as the season ad- 
vances. Nature is never violent in her se- 
lections of color. From the departure of 
snow to the turning of the leaves in Au- 
tumn, she teaches us the use of color, and 
never once going wrong. With May 
comes the beautiful wild lady's slipper, 
followed in June by the grass-pink. The 
spring season is a pink and green season, 
and with the warmer days, meadow and 
roadside, woods and swamps become 
dotted with stronger colors until in 
September the golden-rod and Jo Pye 
weed vie with each other in the carnival 
of beauty. 

So, if we would put harmony in the sur- 
roundings which make home, we will do 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

well to follow the order and the skill of 
this scheme of universal decoration. 

Let us consider, if you please, the spirit of 
liome-making as nature herself and the 
home and the rooms within it as nature 
and the seasons passing in review\ It is 
the purpose of this book to treat of the 
home in its entirety and of all the ele- 
ments that go to make it. For inasmuch 
as all things are relative, it becomes im- 
perative to consider the details as well as 
the project of general requirements. 

Let us picture and see the home from the 
outside and the inside points of view. Let 
us see the physical structure and its uses. 
Let us not only make walls but a place to 
live, ready for its owner to walk into, sink 
into an easy-chair and meet eye rest and 
mental satisfaction, called comfort. 



[9] 



Choosing the Site 

1ET us assume Ihat this home is to be 
J built in tlie country, or at least in a 
suburb where there is still enough of na- 
ture's garb to give proper setting. There 
is nothing so good for a background as 
nature-made landscape; and if we cannot 
dwell in a home that is a part of it, we can 
choose a spot where some of its elements 
have been spared the axe of over-zealous 
man. 

See to it that your site has trees that may 
be permitted to remain if this is possible. 
And see to it too that their roots are not 
mutilated in the business of building. 
The next matter of importance is room at 
the front for a flower garden, however 
small it may be. For a front garden is like 
the opening chapter of a book. It gives an 
idea of what to expect as one proceeds up 
the path to the presentation of an idea. 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

The more green with which you can sur- 
round your home, the prettier it will be; 
the more inviting from tlie outside, the 
more restful within. A man who spent 
his working hours in the city once said 
that he wouldn't take a thousand dollars 
a morning for the view which he had with 
his breakfast and the green he saw from 
his easy-chair on his porch. 

The home should be a part of the land- 
scape. It should not be a violent spot 
either in design or color. It should look 
as if it grew in its surroundings with the 
ilowers and shrubs and trees. It should be 
designed by a good architect. It is no 
part of this little book to create rules. It 
is rather a suggestion or series of sugges- 
tions which may or may not be fully ac- 
cepted as your taste may prompt. 

It may be that you have already built your 
home, but these suggestions are quite as 
applicable as to a new home. To meet en- 
tirely your specific needs it would be nec- 
essary to consult an interior decorator of 
good repute. These pages are intended to 
apply in a general way, though details are 
discussed at some length. 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

To return to the structure: There are no 
better examples of domestic architecture 
than many of the simple homes of New 
England. These are almost invariably 
white with green trim. Their interiors 
were designed for comfort. Their gar- 
dens are literally festivals of color from 
early Spring until late Autumn. They 
are restrained in character, refreshingly 
free of "ornament," dignified, restful and 
pleasant. They come nearer fulfilling 
the true conception of "Home" than any 
type of building which has since been 
evolved. 

The one important reason why this char- 
acter of home is successful in most sec- 
tions of the country is that it is built from 
wood — the best medium for artistic ex- 
pression, in the opinion of many. If you 
have doubts of the lasting qualities of 
wood, you have only to remember that 
the models in question have stood in 
many instances for more than a century, 
kept young and useful by an occasional 
coat of your partner, paint. 

Of course, there are other media of archi- 
tectural expression. The stucco house is 

1:12: 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

favored by many, especially when it is 
used in conjunction with half timber ef- 
fect — borrowed from our English cousins 
who use it structurally and sincerely, 
while the general run of homes in Amer- 
ica in this transplanted style are built 
from the motif of appearance alone. In 
some cases, the supposed timbers have 
been fashioned from galvanized iron, un- 
truthful in purpose and useless as a part 
of the building. Even when wood is used 
it is in fanciful patterns created for the 
eye alone, from ordinary boards. 

The wooden home is essentially Amer- 
ican in spirit and design. In the early 
days wood was used because it was the 
only available material, quarrying not 
having been introduced and bricks being 
imported from England and Holland at 
great expense. Besides, it was only nec- 
essary to cut and artifice a material grow- 
ing on every hand for adequate shelter 
against all weathers. The material of 
necessity proved so lasting, so easy to 
work and so low in cost that the con- 
sideration of other materials was super- 
fluous. 

[13] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

Now, as then, bricks and stone are almost 
prohibitive in cost even to the well-to-do, 
while wood is not only the cheapest but 
the most natural elemental building ma- 
terial. It is the easiest worked, costs the 
least from the standpoint of labor 
charges, and can be changed in color at 
will to meet a desire for a new effect. 

So let us consider first the wooden home 
and discuss the details of the exterior 
from the point of view of beauty, brought 
about by a wise choice of color. 

White is the preferred color for exterior 
painting; that is, for the broad surfaces. 
The blinds, window-trim, porch columns 
and in many cases the cornices may be 
one of numerous color tones. The pic- 
ture which wc must consider is one which 
nature would approve, so restraint is in 
order, whatever our selections may be. 
Following is a presentation of a variety 
of combinations, all of which will blend 
with any landscape and become a part 
of it. 

As there are so many different shades of 
each color, we mention the technical trade 

ni43 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

names, by which the intended color is 
known. 

Combination Number One: Broad sur- 
faces, White; window casings. Warm 
W Grey; sashes, Brown G Stone; shut- 
ters. Woodbine Green; porch, cornices 
and mouldings, same Warm W Grey 
as used on casings; doors. White; cas- 
ings. Warm W Grey; porch floors. 
Green Stone Medium; roof. Woodbine 
Green. 

Combination Number Two: Broad sur- 
faces, Cream D Color; casings. Fern 
Green; sashes. White; shutters, Fern 
Green; porch. Cream D Color; cornices 
and mouldings. Cream D Color; doors, 
White; casings. Fern Green; porch 
floors. Blue E Grey; roof, Fern Green. 

Combination Number Three : Broad sur- 
faces. Pearl Grey; window casings, 
Warm Drab; Shutters, Oxide Red; cor- 
nices and mouldings, Pearl Grey; 
doors, White; porch. Pearl Grey; porch 
floors, Oxide Red; roof, Oxide Red. 

Combination Number Four: Broad sur- 
faces. Yellow M Buff; casings, Walnut 
Brown; sashes. White; shutters, Wal- 
nut Brown; porch, Yellow M Buff; 

[15] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

cornices and mouldings, Yellow M Buff; 
doors, White; casings. Walnut Brown; 
cornices. Walnut Brown; other mould- 
ings. Yellow M Buff; porch floors, Sien- 
nese Drab; roof. Walnut Brown. 

Combination Number Five: Broad sur- 
faces, White; casings, Palm Green; 
sashes. White; shutters. Pea Green, 
porch. White; cornices, Pea Green; 
other mouldings, White; doors. White; 
casings. Pea Green; porch floor. Palm 
Green; roof, Palm Green. 

Combination Number Six: Broad sur- 
faces, White; casings. Brown G Stone; 
sashes. Warm W Grey; shutters. Brown 
G Stone; porch. White; cornices and 
other mouldings. Brown G Stone; 
doors. White; porch floor. Brown G 
Stone; roof, Woodbine Green. 

Combination Number Seven : Broad sur- 
faces, Grey T Stone; casings. White; 
sashes. Tobacco Brown; shutters. 
White; porch. Grey T Stone; cornices 
and mouldings, Grey T Stone; doors, 
Tobacco Brown; casings. White; porch 
floor, Tobacco Browm; roof, Fern Green. 

We must remember that harmonious con- 
trast is in order, and there are greens and 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

greens, greys and greys, browns and 
browns. In incompetent hands, the best 
color scheme ever planned may be ren- 
dered hideous. Home should not be a 
paint-maker's color card, and cannot be 
successful unless your own taste and in- 
dividuality are reflected in its dress, inside 
or out. 

Assuming that you live on a street con- 
taining representative American homes, 
we must plan the color treatment of your 
own so that it will not appear violent in 
comparison with that of your neighbor's. 
You have no doubt seen the deplorable 
result of a variance of preference when 
one side of a semi-detached residence has 
been painted white and the other half 
done in green. The straight, sharp line of 
demarcation showed that each neighbor 
cared nothing about what the other 
thought of it — and less about the neigh- 
borhood spirit. 

We have assumed in our seven sugges- 
tions that the house is one of board con- 
struction. If it be of brick, it must be con- 
sidered from a somewhat different point 
of view. Brick and stone are elemental 

[17: 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

in character and are better unpainted. 
The little exterior wood trim should gen- 
erally be done in very light colors, white 
and buff being in order with shutters 
white, buff or bright green. Sashes may 
be dark if one chooses. There is much 
less choice of colors to use with brick be- 
cause there is so little variation in the 
tones of the brick itself. The same is 
practically true of stucco, save that it may 
be colored to suit almost any fancy. The 
general use of grey is prevalent, and inas- 
much as grey harmonizes with nearly all 
other colors, the same treatments of trim 
as mentioned in our previous suggestions 
may be applied to stucco buildings. 

Shingle houses offer less variety of choice 
as far as color is concerned, but there are 
good and substantial reasons why shin- 
gles should be painted, rather than left 
to the weather. In the first place, there 
never has been a shingle roof which has 
not required patching at more or less fre- 
quent intervals. The patch, usually a 
fresh, uncolored shingle, becomes start- 
lingly conspicuous when set among its 
older, weather-stained neiglibors. When 
the shingles are painted, repairs can be 

His;] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

made as often as necessary, and a coal of 
paint on tlie new pieces preserves the har- 
mony of color and does not flaunt their 
newness. 

Painted shingles have a far greater resis- 
tance to fire than unpainted shingles. 
While it is true that the oil in paint is in- 
flammable, it is equally true that, after 
drying, the surface is practically metallic 
and to a high degree fire-resisting. 
Painted shingles do not warp, with the re- 
sult that they do not form pockets in 
which a burning cinder or spark could 
settle. Furthermore, actual experience 
proves that painted shingles are rain- 
proof and remain so as long as the paint 
endures. 

Painted shingles of a color in harmony 
with the rest of the house, are, first of all, 
a good investment; second, good protec- 
tion; and third, pleasing and attractive to 
look at. 

The secret of successful house-painting is 
in the maintenance of a neutral effect, 
with enough of color to give relief to the 
eye. Monotony is as offensive as too 

[19] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

much variety. So our task is to establish 
a medium that shall be happy and tasteful. 

Let us not forget that the renewal of paint 
at stated intervals is quite necessary and 
should be made at least once every four 
years. Onlj' a good master painter should 
be employed — one who believes in the use 
of good paint and good craftsmen. Given 
paint of first quality, two workmen may 
produce entirely different results. From 
the work of one may follow long wear 
and weather resistance, and from the 
other a coating that will prove short-lived 
and inferior, with peeling and blistering 
of the surface. 

The time to paint depends more upon the 
weather than upon the season. In many 
parts of the country the cool clear days of 
Fall afford as good and sometimes better 
working conditions than the Spring. The 
season is inconsequential. Dry weather 
is the most important consideration. 



[20] 



As to Interior Furnishings 

COLOR and arrangement are the two 
most important factors in develop- 
ing a sympathetic and attractive interior. 
Color — first, last and always. The im- 
portance of color is only just beginning 
to be recognized. The reaction psycho- 
logically is very powerful — and very 
subtle. 

How often, on entering a room or a 
house, one has felt an overpowering sense 
of gloom and depression — strong enough 
to make conversation almost impossible, 
so heavy were one's spirits! If analyzed, 
the cause of this could almost invariably 
be traced to color. 



A charming old country house, lovely in 
line and type, had, when purchased, an 

[21] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

entrance hall about 25 feet square, run- 
ning through the width of the house at 
that point, with a Dutch door and two 
windows opening onto a garden at the 
rear. This hall had a fireplace and a 
finely proportioned long low mantel. A 
wonderful possibility! But— the walls 
were covered with deep red paper of an 
enormous pattern, with yellow grained 
varnish on the trim — gloomy, repellent 
and most hideous. 

The paper was removed, likewise the yel- 
low grained varnish; the walls were pan- 
elled; and walls, trim and ceiling were all 
done in soft, creamy, flat-tone paint. 

A long box under a group of windows, 
built in with mouldings and panelling 
like the walls to the left of the door as one 
entered, was covered with a cushion of a 
small patterned velvet in dull gold. This 
box held golf clubs, tennis rackets and 
other odds and ends very conveniently. 
The lighting fixtures were black sconces 
with raised lacquer in gold. An old black 
lacquer Chinese chest with raised gold 
decorations served as a wood box and 
gave color and character. 

[223 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

Above this hung a black Chinese lacquer 
mirror of Queen Anne type. An inexpen- 
sive Chinese rug of blue with gold figures 
covered the centre of the floor, which had 
been properly varnished and waxed. 
Some Canton willow chairs with a low 
table of the same, cushions of plain Chi- 
nese blue and of brocades in Chinese de- 
sign of blues, old golds and black carried 
out the idea of color. The room was made 
so attractive that it was decided to place 
the piano there. The windows, being 
small and many-paned, were hung to the 
sill with sheer sash curtains against the 
panes and soft old gold silk at either side 
of the window, all pulled back so that the 
vista into the gardens might not be ob- 
scured — a vital point in a country house. 

In one corner stood an oleander bush 
which reached to the ceiling— a distance 
of only nine feet — but imagine the glow 
of color, the light streaming through the 
old gold curtains and bits of gold, blue 
and black everywhere against the cream- 
painted background. A standing lamp of 
wrought iron whose parchment shade 
was banded with blue and gold, lighted 
the piano. It all welcomed you most 

[23] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

charmingly. An entrance like this must 
express a happy, cheerful household. One 
had a sense of pleasure and expansion at 
once on entering. . . . Then close your 
eyes and think of the red paper and yel- 
low varnish. What a comparison! 

The living room, opening off directly to the 
right, had its walls done in a soft Colon- 
ial yellow ilat tone with cream trim; old 
mahogany furniture was covered in soft 
brown and dull old greens; an Oriental 
rug of great beauty and unusual coloring 
in golds, browns, tans and blues covered 
the floor. A piece of old brocade hung 
flat against the chimney breast, against 
which was hung a long oblong antique 
Colonial mirror. A pair of old brass can- 
dlesticks stood on the mantel with a bowl 
of laurel leaves reflected in the mirror in 
the middle; brass andirons and fender — 
all gave sparkle and life to the room. A 
wing chair with a low table at its left, on 
which stood a reading lamp, was placed 
beside the fire and gave a very inviting 
touch. There were no fixtures in this 
room, but many lamps all with gold 
colored silk shades. The rooms all 
opened so closely into one another that it 

[:24] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

was felt best to employ the same colors, 
though differently expressed. 

The trim, throughout the entire house, 
which was small, with very low ceilings, 
was kept in the soft creamy tones. The 
wainscoted dining room had the same 
soft creamy paint, with a very quaint old 
black-backgrounded paper above the 
wainscoting, which was part of the orig- 
inal old house. Old brass sconces made 
into fixtures added another quaint touch, 
with soft yellow silk shades lined with 
deep rose to give a glow of color when 
lighted. Old mahogany table, chairs, 
sideboard and corner wall cupboard fas- 
tened high up into the corner. The floor, 
which was finished in a very dark stain, 
varnished and waxed, was covered with 
a dark brown — "tete de negre" — seamless 
chenille rug. None of it expensive, none 
of it done in a "scheme," yet all harmoni- 
ous, happy and unobtrusive. 

The loveliest rooms are those that grow 
from one thing to another as the sugges- 
tion is developed. Of course, if your 
house is so pure in style or period as in- 
telligently to call for only the period fur- 

[25] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

niture of its type, that is a different prop- 
osition. We are dealing liere witli the or- 
dinary conditions of thousands of our 
American homes — houses and apart- 
ments that have no special architecture 
or "period" background to work up to. 

The guest bedroom contained a motley 
collection which would have cost much to 
replace with desirable and attractive fur- 
niture. An inexpensive copy of a French 
chintz paper in lovely soft blues and red 
pinks was found to cover the walls. The 
trim w^as painted creamy white. Then, 
as an inspiration, it was decided to paint 
the furniture, and a soft dull blue which 
was in the paper was decided upon. 
Everything — brass beds, bureau, chiffon- 
ier, desk and chairs, all were painted old 
blue. The dressing table had a much too 
ornate cheap mirror which was removed 
entirely and a small antique mahogany 
shaving mirror was stood on the dressing 
table in its place. Copies of old hardware 
handles, etc., replaced the common com- 
mercial variety. A red mulberry carpet 
rug (also one of the tones in the paper) 
made a wonderful background for the 

C2G:] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

blue furniture, the tloor having been 
properly done as to linish, varnishing, 
etc. At the windows were organdie cur- 
tains rufiled and looped back — no other 
hangings. The whole made a most 
charming room. 

The same thing was done with another 
])edroom, in which a soft green instead 
of blue was used. The trim was done in 
the same creamy white; a green and white 
striped paper covered the walls. Again 
everything, beginning with the brass 
beds, was painted. An inexpensive Eng- 
lish block print chintz w^as used in this 
room for curtains. A chaise tongue was 
upholstered in this same chintz which 
had pink and soft mauves to offset and 
balance the green paint. Bed spreads 
with a full gathered valance covered as 
much of the ugly brass bed as possible. 
A dark green carpet rug was used, — and 
so another room was transformed by 
a coat of paint, at small expense, using 
what one had and painting all to bring it 
together happily. A few pieces of old 
mahogany or w^alnut can always be used 
in a room with painted furniture and 
they relieve the hardness which some- 

i:27] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

times occurs with certain types of this 

kind. 

• • • * • 

In another old house in New Jersey, the 
large living room had an old cupboard 
with a wonderful green on the panels of 
the doors. This made the starting point 
for that room. The color was copied and 
all the trim, doors and cornices done in 
this tone. The walls were painted a flat 
cream. A very simple type of wicker fur- 
niture, painted black, was used, with old 
gold cushions of very inexpensive mate- 
rial. Portieres of this same material were 
hung. The fireplace was painted black — 
mantel and all — and black wrought iron 
lamps with parchment shades of cream 
with old gold bands and black lines were 
used. Ruffled curtains of organdie looped 
back were at the windows. . . . And, at a 
very small outlay, simply the application 
of color and paint, a really delightful 
room was evolved. 

It is always best to keep to the simplest 
types in furniture, avoiding cheap adap- 
tations and the kind of wicker furniture 
that is full of scrolls and fancy loops. 



128-} 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

A living room in an apartment had a most 
distressing look when first beheld by its 
prospective tenants. The apartment was 
in an old-fashioned house which had 
been made over. The doors and trim 
were of heavy solid oak with a yellow 
grained varnish finish — very expensive 
and very ugly. Nothing could look well 
against such a background. 

This was entirely refinished and painted 
a soft dull green with a gold line on the 
smaller mouldings. The walls were 
tinted a greenish grey, the ceiling a soft, 
dull browny gold. At the windows were 
hung, only to the sill, filet net curtains, 
with old gold silk pushed back at the 
sides, both curtains hanging flat against 
the window pane to give full value to the 
deep embrasure of the window and do 
justice to the panelling and architectural 
detail. 

In this room a lovely English glazed 
chintz was used to cover the large daven- 
port and large winged chair. Pleated val- 
ances were used on these pieces. The 
chintz had a very soft pinky tan back- 
ground with flowers in red pink and blue 

1:293 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

and yellow, producing a very old mellow 
effect. The other odd pieces of furniture 
were covered in a dull dark old blue. 
Built-in sunken book cases flush with the 
wall were fdled with books whose bind- 
ings reflected again the colors in the 
chintz. A fireplace of Italian design in 
dull green and gold composition with a 
pair of very quaint andirons of Italian 
reproduction and fixtures of the same 
style made another note in the room. 

A very beautiful old Sheraton table was 
pulled up to the left of the guest as he sat 
on the davenport, which was placed at 
right angles to the fireplace, and held 
magazines, books and a large reading 
lamp with a gold colored shade. A room 
which was a mixture of English, Italian 
and Colonial, yet the effect of which was 
warm, soft and most sympathetic — all of 
which would have been impossible with 
the yellow varnished oak background 
originally in the room. 



In every one of the rooms described, ex- 
traordinary results were produced by 
paint and color at small expense. 

[30] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

Arrangement is most important and fur- 
niture should be shifted and changed 
about until, by the very sense of balance 
you get, suddenly you know you have 
hit it. 

It is right. The light falls in just the right 
way over your shoulder as you read, 
write or sew. The chairs are grouped in 
the living room in such a way that friends 
dropping in for tea find a cozy spot at 
once. It is not a question of vast expense. 
With the right touch and the right color 
it can be done with most satisfactory re- 
sults and really marvellous things can be 
done with paint. Every room herein 
described has actually been done. 



In furnishing the Hostess Houses at the 
Camps throughout the country, wonder- 
ful effects were produced almost entirely 
with color and paint. The men craved 
color. They were weary of khaki, tans 
and dust color, and their joy in and appre- 
ciation of the Hostess Houses was a de- 
light to see. Expensive fabrics were out 
of the question. How, then, to get color? 
By paint! Perfectly ordinary kitchen 

[311 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

chairs and tables in the cafeterias were 
painted soft light cheerful greens. Body 
color coats of brilliant warm orange and 
deep royal blue were given to a very sim- 
ple type of wicker chair in the huge liv- 
ing rooms. The effect of these masses of 
color offset by the khaki of the men was 
gay and cheerful beyond words. Large 
paper shades of orange color shaded the 
lamps. The rooms glowed with a joy and 
welcome that none of the men failed to 
appreciate. 

Make your homes as gay and cheerful as 
you possibly can, not "jumpy" with hard, 
unlovely color, but as full of warm soft 
tones as you can get them, remembering 
always that Home must be a place of 
peace and rest as well as joy. 

We feel like echoing the sentiment of the 
old Gloucester fisherman who gave his 
schooner a new coat of paint in the 
spring, and, gazing with pride and ad- 
miration at his work, remarked, "Ain't it 
wonderful what a lick o' paint'll do!" 



n323 



The Small House 

IN these servantless days, the bungalow 
type of house grows more and more 
popular. It is compact, convenient; it 
only asks for a simple type of furniture. 
A mixture of good willow, painted or left 
in its natural color, in the body, and with 
the braided edge painted or stained; some 
old mahogany or walnut pieces, if you 
are fortunate enough to own them, mix 
in well, or good simple reproductions. 
By walnut furniture I do not mean the 
hideous black walnut "Eastlake" types. 
These, with their scrolls and marble tops 
and glooms, are, I hope, forever relegated 
to oblivion. 

I shudder now in remembrance of a set 
of black walnut furniture in my grand- 
mother's bedroom, particularly an enor- 
mous bureau, with its marble top, huge 
great mirror supported by carved col- 
umns that wiggled upward, and topped 
[33] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

over all by massive carved grapes. How 
I gazed in awe while a terrible stillness al- 
ways filled me as I planted my small per- 
son in front of it! 

And oh! the terrible "best rooms" of the 
past! I remember a friend telling me that 
in her father's honse the "best room" 
door was never left open. That closed 
door, at the foot of the stairs — how it 
filled her with absolute horror! And she 
had a trick of throwing herself around 
the newel post with a tremendous swing 
— with enough "way" to land her up two 
or three steps of the stairs if she was go- 
ing up, or 'way round, well past that aw- 
ful door, if she was coming down stairs. 
Imagine the effect on that little mind. 
And the shrinking terror with which she 
grew up. The awful something behind 
those doors! What was it? What an op- 
portunity for an inhibition! The "best 
room," thank Fate, has forever left us, 
and in its place we are putting the living 
room where the family draws magnet- 
ically together. Wonderful if it has an 
open fire, and most bungalows now have. 
The open fire is the soul of a room. We 
gravitate toward it instinctively. We 

n34] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

group our furniture round it. We draw 
up chairs, stools, anything to get within 
its cheerful gk)w. 

Arrange your furniture with some mean- 
ing, in groups if it is a large room. There 
is the group around the lire; the group 
around the tea table; the group around 
the reading table, with its glow of light, 
centred to draw the family together in 
peace and concord. 

Above all things avoid "small junk." 
The sins that are committed in the name 
of "bric-a-brac" can never be atoned for. 
There is no Hades big enough! And the 
amount of money that is spent is appall- 
ing. If you can't have a few fine bits, 
preferably antique, there are many mod- 
ern Chinese porcelains that are lively and 
full of color. Don't be afraid of empty 
spaces — books, flowers, a work box, all 
have meaning and purpose. There never 
was a drawing room too fine for a lady's 
w^ork box; and what a sense of cozy 
human sympathy it always has — the chair 
beside a low table with a work box, a vase 
of flowers, a book. That brings us to an- 
other point. Have low tables — as many 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

as your room will hold — without crowd- 
ing, of course, and instead of cheap, ut- 
terly meaningless junk — cheap though it 
may have cost much actual money — have 
flowers, or green branches of laurel 
leaves or a small growing plant; and a 
book or magazine on a low table placed 
beside the chair where your family or 
guest may take comfort and pleasure. 

To go back to our starting point — the 
bungalow. Arrange any rooms on the 
first floor so that they do not clash, not 
necessarily using the same tones but as 
far as possible letting the colors in one 
room lead into another or carry on a sug- 
gestion from one to another. In other 
words, keep your vista so that the effect, 
while not being monotonous, avoids the 
chopped-up restless result we have when 
we break up our space by too many 
colors. Have your house restful and 
keep away from the temptation to put too 
many things about. Rather do as the 
Japanese — keep a lot in the closet and 
change them around. Have a large table 
with a large lamp whose shade permits a 
wide radius of light, so that several per- 
sons may sit within its circle. Put books 

[36] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

and magazines and papers on the table or 
in little racks, for your bungalow living 
room is an informal room. Parchment 
lamp-shades are lovely in a bungalow and 
can be made plain with bands of color or 
with a design, depending on the material 
used for cushions, etc. Have one or two 
large divans with loose cushions, depend- 
ing on the size of your living room. Over- 
stuffed pieces look much smarter and 
most intimate if upholstered in chintzes. 
If your chintz is delicate in color and de- 
sign, have fitted slip covers well made 
with corded seams and pleated valances. 
Very tailored these must be — not at all 
the loose baggy things we put on as dust- 
covers in summer. The finest drawing 
rooms in England have these fitted slip 
covers, and the delicate chintzes can thus 
be easily cleansed. 

In the niches or corners between your 
rooms put large Spanish or Moorish jars, 
which come in a very inexpensive pottery 
vivid in color; and one can always get a 
bough of green to put in them. 

Of course there are many types of bunga- 
lows, from the very simple ones with pine 

[37] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

sheathed varnished walls to the perma- 
nent type with plastered and tinted walls, 
which permit of a more elaborate and 
permanent kind of furnishings. 

For the primitive bungalow, grass rugs or 
those made of fiber, of which there are 
many charming and very smart ones to 
choose from, are very effective, if your 
furnishings are very simple and you 
haven't much color about. But in the per- 
manent type of house almost any kind of 
carpet rug, Oriental or Chinese rug can 
be used. 

Have only lamps in your living room, lots 
of them; no side lights, though these in 
simple appropriate design are most at- 
tractive and necessary in the dining room, 
as you have no overhead light and no 
other light except your table candles. 
Painted furniture is most charming in a 
bungalow dining room, or you can use 
painted chairs and a mahogany table. 
The color in your rooms should be deter- 
mined by the exposure of your house. 

Personally I like paper in country bed- 
rooms. There are so many very pretty 

[38] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

papers that are reproductions of line old 
chintz designs, that give a deliciously 
crisp fresh look, and it is so easy to take 
one of the colors in the paper as your 
color scheme for the room. Paint up a 
lot of old furniture if you have it; body 
color it some tone in your paper and put 
lines of another color; or if you can paint, 
take some motive in your paper or chintz 
and reproduce it on your furniture. 
Don't be in a hurry to do it all at once. It 
will grow — one thing will suggest anotiier 
and it becomes a perfectly fascinating 
sort of game. 

If your wall has a flowered paper, it is 
well to use some plain material for cur- 
tains — or something with very inconspic- 
uous pattern. If your v^indows are very 
small and your house is where no one can 
see in, have your sash window curtains 
pushed well back to give you all the 
beauty of your view. Let in all the sun- 
shine and air you possibly can. 

For country bedrooms nothing is prettier 
than dotted swiss — or organdie or ordi- 
nary book muslin, made with little ruffles 
on the inside. They dress up a room at 
[39] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

once; and remember this — that if your 
windows are properly handled, your cur- 
tains well chosen and well made, your 
room is half — more than half — done, for 
immediately on entering a room our gaze 
goes toward the window. Really en- 
chanting curtains can be made of ging- 
hams and voiles and many materials that 
one sees in the day's shopping. For bed- 
rooms a valance of chintz over the mus- 
lin window curtain will give up color — if 
we don't want chintz curtains at the sides 
of our window. 

Be very careful that you get the right 
shade of your color. There are blues that 
are warm and blues that are very cold. 
Pink can be one of the hardest tones I 
know, if it is in a room with the wrong 
exposure. Some yellows are sunny, 
others very dull. You have to try them 
in your rooms — each with its own angle 
of exposure and light and reflection. 

In your verandah furnishings you have 
room for no end of color. You can let 
yourself go to your heart's content — not 
freakish color but good strong ringing 
tones. The out of doors absorbs them in 

1140: 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

such a way that they are never garish or 
hard. Avoid heavy stuffy coverings and 
portieres, avoid "schemes" of decoration. 
Plan for comfort, for a suitable back- 
ground that expresses the life of the fam- 
ily living within the walls of your house. 
Keep your floors low in tone — a well fin- 
ished floor has much to do as a back- 
ground with all the furniture we place 
upon it. See that it is well stained and 
polished and your wall tones soft and 
neutral. Be sincere — don't do things for 
effect, but let your home express your life 
and in return it will give you joy and 
comfort. 



i:4i: 



The City Home 

WE all know Ihe kind of narrow house 
with the black hole of a middle room 
to be found all over New York City. How 
people endured the gloom of it all is a 
mystery. I once was asked to do over a 
house of this kind. The walls and wood- 
work were tinted a dark brown. The 
middle room was practically useless. My 
client said rather pathetically: "Can't 
this be made a place where the men 
would like to linger and smoke?" — it ad- 
joined the dining room. "They now run 
through it as fast as they can to the 
library above, which is cheerful." I 
didn't wonder. Even a piano and a 
"canned music" cabinet couldn't hold 
them. 

I immediately had all the woodwork 
scraped and panelled and painted a soft 
old ivory. I found an English chintz 

[42] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

with large flowers in the gayest of rose 
and blue and mauve tones on a cream 
background. It was some time before I 
could convince my client that the chintz 
was what she wanted — but I have since 
had the satisfaction of having her tell me 
she loves it more each year. I knew she 
would! 

The curtains and portieres between the 
dark middle room and the dining room — 
the darkest spot in the room — were made 
of this beautiful chintz, so full of color 
and life. A large arm-chair was covered 
with it and placed where you couldn't re- 
sist it as you came out of the dining 
room; a low table with a lamp was placed 
beside the chair, the only light in the 
room previously having come from re- 
mole wall fixtures. Small low tables for 
coll'ee cups also had lamps. Several 
pieces of furniture were covered in the 
rose red — a wonderful shade — in the 
chintz, and warm old rose rugs deep in 
tone were used. The room was trans- 
formed. And my client laughingly said 
she couldn't get the men away from it. 
The moment they began to use it the 
charm began to work; the evening papers 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

with their various items of interest placed 
on a table as a lure made a topic for con- 
versation and the ice was broken. Con- 
versations begun at the table were easily 
continued over the coffee cups and ciga- 
rettes. The room still had a distinct dig- 
nity and formality as well, but it had the 
charm that only color can give. 

We applied the same treatment to the li- 
brary on the second floor, where golden 
oak trim and green walls flaunted their 
ugliness. The oak was rubbed down, 
stained and waxed, hand rubbed to make 
a soft velvety English oak finish. A 
putty colored wall was used, a wonderful 
tone where subdued yellow and green 
blended marvellously; beautiful Chinese 
rugs of exquisite golden brown back- 
grounds — a rare color in Chinese rugs 
— all made the setting, the frame for 
all else that was used in the room. Book- 
cases built awkwardly out into the room 
were removed and placed in a heaven- 
sent niche which we acquired by ripping 
out two closets full of junk that were 
placed between the library and bedroom 
adjoining. These niches were large 
enough to hold a desk on one side and a 

[44] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

table with a reading light on the other, 
the walls being lined with shelves and 
filled with books. The space made by re- 
moving the shelves from the room al- 
lowed us to place very comfortably in just 
the right light a baby grand piano. 

This room had two great points of ar- 
chitectural background: a very well 
proportioned semi-circular window seat 
commanding a heavenly view of the river 
and Palisades, with casement windows of 
small leaded panes and a deep window 
seat; and a large fireplace framed in the 
most villainous shade of green glazed tile 
and a wildly ornate "over-mantel" with 
endless jig-saw wreaths and mirrors ga- 
lore in panels. The ornamentation was 
most carefully planed off — the over-man- 
tel and its mirrors entirely removed, 
leaving a very nicely proportioned low 
mantel, absolutely simple. The hearth 
was re-tiled in old English clay tiles and 
wrought iron fire-irons and andirons sup- 
planted the modern brass of hideous and 
much ornamented design. The same fur- 
niture recovered was unrecognizable in 
its new background. 

[45] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAI NT 

The only light came from the large bay 
window which took up practically the en- 
tire width of the room. Only very thin 
curtains of grenadine covered the win- 
dows, with a hanging at either end of the 
arch to give color and soften the frame. 
It is marvellous, once our eyes are opened 
to the possibilities of the changes we can 
bring about in our surroundings. And if 
only people can be made to realize the ex- 
traordinary reaction on their lives — in 
their spirits, in their very health itself. 
Wasn't it Whistler who said, after a visit 
to Walt Whitman: "The room was fur- 
nished by a large earthen jar filled with 
golden rod and sunshine"? 

It requires thought and judgment and it 
results in a gain to us of perception and 
observation. You can gain some sort of 
a result out of almost any collection of 
furniture if you will place it with a view 
to producing a livable arrangement, just 
as, on the other hand, you can "queer" 
very beautiful things by a poor arrange- 
ment. 

Bear in mind that the home your children 
will remember is the home Ihey are 

1:46] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

growing up in now, today, and its effect 
is now reacting on all their future lives. 
I honestly believe that much illness would 
be spared if we tried to make our homes 
more happy in color and furnishings. 
It is not possible to be gloomy in a room 
full of sunshine and color and life. 

You can get a gloomy result with very 
beautiful furniture. Men decorators (I 
am sorry to have to say it) generally do 
get this result. Their interiors are hand- 
some, expensive, but heavy, and never by 
any chance intimate or charming. You 
can make a home with a red geranium, a 
muslin curtained windows a few un- 
painted chairs, a freshly scrubbed floor 
and a clear kerosene lamp. It's all in the 
touch; and once we are awakened to it, 
and begin to see that, we can do wonders. 

A last word is about kitchens — in New 
England, last summer, I was taken with 
great pride by my hostess into her kitchen, 
which was a revelation. The floor was 
tiled in dark red, the walls w^ere lined 
with shelves on which stood all the pots 
and jars (containing ingredients of every 
kind) with bands of old blue decorations. 

i:47: 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

A large table, with a double frame going 
up horizontally from the sides, made two 
racks, on which to hang the spotless shin- 
ing utensils. Gingham curtains with val- 
ances hung at the grouped windows on 
either side, as the room occupied the width 
of the wing drawn out to build this model 
kitchen. Flowers in pots stood in a row 
on the window sill. No wonder we were 
served delicious food. The cook's face 
and that of her assistant shone like their 
pots. Work in such surroundings be- 
came a pleasant task. And my last plea 
is to make your home happy by the right 
furnishings and your lives will be fdled 
with the joy of them. It isn't a question 
of money alone. Much can be done with 
little. It is just giving it the right touch. 



[483 



Paint and Business 

PAINT is a good business partner. It 
has helped make fortunes. When 
Frank Woolworth started his chain of 
five and ten cent stores he made them easy 
to identify. He had the fronts of them 
painted red. And a brilliant red it is. It 
has become so much a part of the Wool- 
worth enterprises that you need no sign 
to tell you that a certain kind of merchan- 
dise is sold within. 

What town hasn't a "blue-front" hard- 
ware store or grocery? And what town 
hasn't a "red front" tea and coffee store? 
These color signals are often the only 
guides needed by a child, no matter how 
young, in finding the desired mart when 
sent on an errand. Paint becomes truly 
a beacon when intelligently used for the 
purpose. 

1:49:] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

A jeweler in a large American city was 
concerned because the light in his store 
was poor even under artificial illumina- 
tion. In talking the matter over, a friend 
suggested that he change his color 
scheme and make his woodwork while. 
He had strong objections, because his fix- 
tures were of mahogany, which had cost 
a great deal of money; but after carefully 
considering the matter, he took his 
friend's advice. The result was amazing. 
His place of business became the best 
lighted shop in town. His wares were dis- 
played to better advantage and his trade 
grew because that interior was cheerful, 
inviting and practical with its ivorj^-Iike 
cases and trim. He made a transforma- 
tion with two coats of white enamel over 
three coats of flat white. 

A scale manufacturer wondered why his 
market didn't grow as he thought it 
should. He made good scales — accurate 
and thoroughly finished. But they were 
painted black. Scales had always been 
painted black. But one day someone told 
him that white would be better. He 
hadn't thought of it, but he determined to 
try it. He tried two colors — white and 

C50n 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

light blue. And his sales increased faster 
than he had previously thought they 
should. 

A small town implement dealer was stuck 
with a yellow-wheeled wagon. No one 
liked yellow wheels. So he repainted 
them a brilliant red and the wagon was 
sold the following week. 

Color determines the value of many com- 
modities. You could sell a black buggy 
with red wheels, but few would buy a red 
body and black wheels. P'olks aren't ac- 
customed to things in reverse from the 
usual in most cases, though in other cases 
reverse is the magnet which produces re- 
sults — as did the light colored scales. 

Gas ranges used to be all black. Now 
they are made with enamelled parts of 
wdiite or light blue, and many of them are 
done in all white and light blue. A hard- 
ware man made the statement that he 
sold three oil heaters with a light blue cyl- 
inder to one with a black cylinder. 

Women demand wdiite kitchens with 
white enamel sinks. They want white 

n5i] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

refrigerators and white bread and cake 
boxes. Prospective mothers will insist 
upon a light blue or light pink basinette 
for the expected babe. 

So many things sold broadcast are painted 
black — black handles on dust brushes 
and wire potato mashers, on tack claws, 
on vacuum cleaners. Why? Color 
makes sales. Why not use it? 

To be sure, there are manj'^ elemental ma- 
terials of characteristic color. Ebony is 
deep brown, almost black. Painting it in 
most cases would be as sensible as gild- 
ing the pump handle; but there are many 
things spoiled in appearance by black 
paint, only because we haven't courage 
to violate custom, and exchange a sad 
color for a glad one. 

Who could sell all black toys? What boy 
wants a black wagon or wheelbarrow? 
What girl wants a black parasol? And 
she prefers light blue shoes, for dolly, to 
black ones. Just try it and see. Boys ac- 
cept black toy locomotives because real 
ones are black and for no other reason. 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

What do you make? Is it something 
made more enduring or more practical 
by a coat of paint? Just try bright colors. 
Paint will help you toward bigger sales, 
if you will. There is a washing machine 
— on the market only a short time. It is 
blue. And it is named after a bird. It is 
selling like wild-fire, so it is said. Its 
name makes it easy to remember and 
women are asking for it all over the 
country. 

Think of paint as an advertising me- 
dium. In an eastern city a florist oper- 
ates delivery cars that are painted a beau- 
tiful green. Everybody in town knows 
him — and it seems as if everybody in 
town who buys flowers, buys them at his 
shop. A wholesale grocery concern in 
another city has its fleet of trucks painted 
a brilliant crimson in key with their ad- 
vertising campaign for Crimson Band 
Coffee. Every one of these trucks always 
looks as if it had just left the paint shop. 
Their owners believe in the partnership 
of paint. Paint is a loyal friend to your 
balance in bank, for it protects and beau- 
tifies everything of yours which it covers. 
In your office, paint makes cheerful sur- 

[53] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

roundings. It makes an agreeable atmos- 
phere. In your store, it makes an effec- 
tual background for j^our goods. If you 
operate a factory, it will make better light 
and better work. It will save wood and 
metal from rust and decay. It gives the 
exterior of your plant an air of prosper- 
ity and creates a pride of connection in 
the minds of employes. Paint makes 
cheer inside and outside, in home or busi- 
ness home. It costs little and does a great 
deal. The renewal of paint is common 
sense, whether it is made on walls, wood- 
work, metal cornice, roof or motor truck. 

Paint is economy. It gives more real 
service for the cash outlay than any other 
protective element. It is insurance 
against ugliness of buildings, against the 
bad effects of snow, rain, hot sun. It 
plays a strong and constant part in down- 
keep and makes wood and metal stay 
youthful. It keeps doors and windows 
from warping and buckling, because it 
keeps out dampness. 

The partnership of paint is many sided, 
from the standpoint of utility and good 
looks. Its good offices are illustrated on 

[54] 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

every hand. If a man wants to keep a 
piece of property, he paints it. If he 
wants to sell it, he paints it. If he wants 
a good rental for it, he keeps his paint and 
varnish renewed. 

Paint is powerful. It influences us all, all 
of our lives. It is as personal in its rela- 
tion to industry as you are. It has a way 
of sticking to business and growing more 
useful everj^ day. Those who believe in 
paint and use it, arc known for their 
thrifty ways. The tumble-down citizen 
always lives in the unpainted weather- 
grey house on the edge of town — the 
same chap who borrows coal from his 
neighbor and change from his wife. 

Paint is always good. The colored stuff 
which peels, checks and blisters in a few 
months, isn't paint at all. It is poor stuff 
to buy. You can generally tell what it is, 
before you use it, because it doesn't cost 
enough to be good. Good paint pays be- 
cause it lasts three times as long as color 
in disguise. 

Buy and use good paint and varnish. It 
pays to pay the little difference in first 



THE PARTNERSHIP OF PAINT 

cost. It is the same as buying an all-wool 
garment in preference to a cotton one. 
Good paint is an asset in business. The 
other kind is worse than a liability. It is 
an attachment against your operating 
costs. 



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